New Israeli law threatens Al Jazeera shutdown

The Israeli legislature has approved a new law that may pave the way for the government to close down the Al Jazeera news network. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to “act immediately to stop” Al Jazeera’s operations in the country. Al Jazeera reports that the legislation’s passage comes nearly five months after Israel said it would block Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen. It refrained from shuttering Al Jazeera at the same time. After the vote on Monday, Israel’s communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, said he intended to move forward with the closure.